


Family Business

by andrastesgrace (RoxieFlash), gallifreyslostson



Series: Family Assembled [14]
Category: Agent Carter (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-22
Updated: 2016-04-22
Packaged: 2018-06-03 17:08:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6619126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoxieFlash/pseuds/andrastesgrace, https://archiveofourown.org/users/gallifreyslostson/pseuds/gallifreyslostson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After arriving in 2012, there’s some basic necessities to get out of the way–namely a complete physical and vaccinations that weren’t available in 1946.  But a trip to the local SHIELD office holds other surprises for Peggy and Jarvis.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Family Business

**Author's Note:**

> We started working on this verse before season 2 of Agent Carter aired, so there’s some pretty huge deviations from the characters that were presented on the show. And we left it that way because we like ours better. If you have any questions about our view of Peggy’s backstory or her brother Bill, feel free to leave them in the comments and we'll try to answer you.

“Do we really have to do this?” Peggy asked irritably, and Jarvis snorted.

“Really, Miss Carter,” he said, shaking his head.  “I have seen you fight men twice your size armed with little more than a lunch tray, and you’re afraid of a few _pin pricks_?”

“I just...don’t like shots,” she sniffed, looking out the window, and Steve grinned and put an arm around her.

“You know, I seem to remember you telling me to buck up when they were taking a fifth of my blood--”

“That was _important_ ,” she insisted.  “This is just--”

“So you don’t die from diseases your body has never seen, or accidentally kill anyone else by carrying diseases that have been gone for years,” he countered, and she glared at him.  “Sorry.  If it helps, I’ll buy you ice cream afterwards.”

“I’m not a _child,_ Steve.”

“What does that have to do with anything?  It’s _ice cream._ ”

Peggy blinked at him, then shook her head and laughed.  Even Jarvis smirked a little before looking out the window again as Steve planted a kiss on Peggy’s head.

Fury was waiting outside for them as they pulled up to the building, and Steve took Peggy’s hand as they strolled up to the doors, and she glanced down before squeezing gently.  It was a nice feeling, being able have little touches like that anywhere, after years of keeping themselves in check.  Of all the adjustments that came with being hurled to another time decades in her future, this was by far her favorite.

“Agent Carter,” Fury said, reaching for the door handle.  “Welcome to SHIELD.”

When they stepped into the spacious foyer, Peggy couldn’t help dropping her jaw a little as she looked around.  It was a far cry from the SSR offices she’d left behind, hidden behind a telephone company front.  There was sunlight and...plants.  People hurried in different directions, some in groups, talking animatedly, some by themselves, purposefully marching with files under their arms.  To one side was a water feature, and to the other--

“The Wall of Heroes?” she asked, reading the top of the sculpture.

“People who’ve given their lives in the service of SHIELD, or it’s predecessor,” Fury explained, following her as she walked toward it.  “Every office has one, with a listing of people local to it.  The main one in DC has all of them.”

Peggy’s eyes wandered over it, then narrowed when she realized that she recognized two names.  One had a line scored through it, with a small insignia of Steve’s shield beside it.  Nice touch.  The one above it, though…

“James Barnes,” she said softly, and Steve’s hand tightened around hers.  “But he was never officially attached to the SSR, was he?”

“He was not,” Fury said, leading the little group away.  “That was done posthumously by the SHIELD founders, when they went back through the old reports.”

“Who were the founders, exactly?” Jarvis asked.  “Surely not the men Miss Carter was working with.”

“I’m glad you asked that, Jeeves,” Fury said, and Jarvis sighed, shaking his head.  “Take a look over here.”

“You’ll like this,” Steve whispered, leaning down close to Peggy’s ear, and her brow furrowed as Fury gestured toward a series of photos.

“My god, it’s Howard,” Jarvis realized, and Peggy burst out laughing.

“Well, that’s one way to beat Thompson, I suppose,” she said, then let her eyes travel over the other photos.  “And Colonel Phillips, good for him, and--”

She stopped, her smile faltering when she took in the final photo.  She stepped forward, letting Steve’s hand slide from hers, and lifted her other one to trace the name under the photo.

“William P. Carter,” Jarvis read aloud behind her.

“Sounds very official, doesn’t it?” she asked softly, a watery smile coming to her lips.  “I always just called him Billy.  Drove him mad past the age of twelve.  Of course that’s why I did it.  That’s what little sisters are good for, after all.”

“You know,” Steve said, coming up behind her and resting his hands on her shoulders, “knowing your brother was one of the founders was really the only thing that kept me with SHIELD.”

“And here I thought it was my charm,” Fury said, and Steve snorted.

“Well, that too,” he said, and Peggy looked up to see him grin.  “I read a few reports about him, wish I could have met him.  Though I gotta say, he didn’t sound much like the guy from your letters.”

“Well, I suppose it would be rather different when it came to men serving with him rather than his little sister,” she said dryly, looking back at the photo.

“Suppose,” Steve allowed.  “Except it wasn’t all men.  They had female agents from the start.”

“You’re joking,” Peggy said, looking from him to Fury.

“I’m sure Howard appreciated that,” Jarvis said, raising an eyebrow.  “Far less work to flirt if they’re all right outside your door.”

“As if he ever had to work at it to begin with,” Peggy snorted.

“Captain Rogers is right though,” Fury said.  “Director Carter came to town not long after his sister went missing, and didn’t like the show Thompson was running.  Guess your war record and exploits at the SSR, both assigned and...otherwise, gave ol’ Billy Boy a change of heart.  So him and Howard started their own agency, based on the SSR, once they pilfered Phillips.  They stood by the idea that if you could bleed red and wanted to work for the good guys, you could be an agent, no matter your gender, color, religion--hell, _ability_.  There were a lot of vets who found a place at SHIELD when even the post office said no, and a lot of other people who were able to be a lot more than they’d been told they ever could be here.”

Peggy looked back at the photo, then at the dates underneath.  He’d died ten years ago, now, there would be no speaking to him.  But she suddenly dearly wished she’d said more to him before she left.

“The last I heard from Billy was another letter begging me to give up the foolish notion of making it in New York on my own and come home,” she said softly, reaching up for one of Steve’s hands.  “I hadn’t even replied yet.”

“Well, you certainly left an impact,” Fury said, and Steve gave her shoulders a light squeeze.  “That’s part of the reason they never actually closed your missing persons case.  In a year, they’d solved nearly all of the SSR’s outstanding cases, ones that office said was colder than...well, your boyfriend here, probably.  Except that one.”

“Sorry I’m late, Director Fury,” a woman said, hurrying up to them.  “There was a terrorist cell uncovered in Liberia, the Cavalry is on it.”

“Always glad to hear when I’m not needed,” Fury said.  “Hill, this is Peggy Carter and Edwin Jarvis.  Agent Carter, Mister Jarvis, Deputy Director Maria Hill.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Maria said, shaking their hands in turn.  “Especially you, Agent Carter.  You’ve been an inspiration to a lot of people here.  I’m pretty sure we have a scientist at the academy with a poster of you on her wall.”

“Oh...my,” Peggy replied, not entirely sure what to make of that.

“There was an agent who wanted me to sign his trading cards too,” Steve said, a corner of his mouth turning up.  “It takes some getting used to.”

“Trading cards?  Did you sign them?”

Steve’s smile faltered, and he looked down, scratching at an eyebrow with his thumb.  “Not in time.”

Maria and Fury exchanged a look Peggy couldn’t quite decipher, but then Maria was smiling at them again.  “So, Agent Carter, Mister Jarvis, I hear there’s a trip to the medical wing in order for you.  I’ll take you there while Director Fury pretends we need him.”

“Well, you should feel right at home here,” Jarvis murmured as they left Fury and set off down another hall.  “At least the irreverent attitude is apparently welcome.”

“Mmm, yes, but can they make coffee?” Peggy asked.

“God, no, don’t drink the coffee here, not unless it’s an emergency,” Maria said.  “It’s swill.  Steve, haven’t you taken her to Starbucks yet?”

“Not yet,” he admitted, taking Peggy’s hand again.  “I’m getting to that.  I thought maybe I’d ease her in before losing her completely to a caffeine addiction.”

“Good call,” Maria replied, then held a door open for them.

They were separated into different rooms, and Peggy was given a hospital gown to change into before being subjected to a full physical.  She was told she was in surprisingly good shape for being ninety-one, which she certainly hoped to be the case, given that she just turned twenty-five last month.  All was in order though, apparently, so after changing back into her clothes, she and Jarvis were herded into a lab area for the thing she was dreading most.  There was a silver tray of syringes waiting for them, and Peggy groaned.

“It’ll be over before you know it,” Steve promised, sitting on a little stool in front of her with his hands on her knees as they started with a blood draw.  She looked away purposefully, letting out a slow breath and settling her eyes on Mister Jarvis.  Needles weren’t a problem if they were going into someone else, usually, so she decided that was a safe bet.  She blinked, however, when he rolled up the sleeve of his undershirt.

“Mister Jarvis, is that a _tattoo_?”

“Erm, yes,” Jarvis said, looking up at her, then down at the bluish black ink outline on his arm.  “My regiment in the army.  Well.  You know how young military men are.”

“Idiotic?” she suggested.

“In a word, yes,” he replied.  “Though I may add that Anna has never--”  He stopped swallowing hard and looking away.  “She never minded it.”

Peggy winced, looking at Steve, who squeezed her knee a little in sympathy.  Having never actually met Mrs. Jarvis, it was easy to forget sometimes, it had only been a few days since she even found out, after all.  But then there were those moments that Jarvis stuttered over his tenses, or got quiet as a shadow settled over his features, and his grief was all too apparent.  She looked to Steve for help, and his eyes widened as he searched for something to say.

“So, uh, Jarvis, did you serve during the war?”

“Part of it,” Jarvis said, the words clipped and tone uninviting, and Peggy rolled her eyes.  It was an understandable question, but absolutely the last one to ask.  Steve looked back at Peggy, and she shook her head, mouthing _later_.

“How’d you meet Howard?” he asked instead, and Peggy nearly groaned.

“A series of regrettable decisions,” Jarvis replied in the same cool tone, and Steve blinked, his mouth moving soundlessly as he searched for something else to say.  It was like watching a puppy being kicked.

“All done,” the laboratory technician beside Peggy said, and she blinked in astonishment.

“Told you,” Steve said, smiling in relief.

“And you, Mister Jarvis,” the other tech said.  “We’ll get these blood panels done and the results to your doctors, but barring anything major, you two should be good to go, at least for a few weeks.”

“A few weeks?” Peggy asked as Jarvis stood and pulled on his shirt and buttoned it up quickly.  “What do you mean a few weeks?”

“Well, some of these vaccinations are in series,” the tech said, looking between her and Steve.  “Didn’t you know?”

“How on _earth_ would I know that?” she demanded.

“It’ll be fine, Peg,” Steve said soothingly, holding out a hand to help her to her feet.  She winced at the soreness in her arms, but the techs assured her that would be gone in a day or two.  Until then, there was ice cream.

“How about it, Jarvis?” Steve asked as they stepped out of the building into the sunshine once more.

“If it’s all the same, I think would prefer returning to the tower,” Jarvis said, adjusting his jacket.

Steve paused, studying him a minute before looking back out at the street.  “There’s nothing there that won’t keep for an hour, Jarvis.  And ice cream is ice cream.  It’s good for the soul.  Come on, humor me.  I promise I won’t bug you the rest of the day.”

Jarvis hesitated, watching Steve and then glancing at Peggy.

“Don’t look at me,” she said, shrugging.  “It’s your decision.  Although I would like your company, and he...won’t stop.”

“Nope,” Steve said, looking back at Jarvis.  “It’s ice cream.”

Jarvis sighed after a moment, dropping his hands from his cuffs.  “Very well, if you insist.”

Steve grinned, and they began to walk away, but stopped as a voice called for them from the building.  Turning, they saw a young man hurrying toward them as fast as the cup in his hands would allow.

“Uh, Deputy Director Hill said you’d be needing this, Agent Carter,” he said, holding out an official looking badge.  “Although she said she’d wait until you gave the okay before putting you on active duty.  And she told me to bring you this.”

Peggy frowned, taking the cup, then smiled.  “You brought me coffee.”

“Uh, yes, ma’am,” he said, nodding a little.  “Is there anything else I can do you for you before you leave?”

“No,” she said, still grinning.  “No, I think that will just about do it.”


End file.
